LA ART SHOW 2017 WILL FEATURE BROADEST INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM TO DATE WITH A FOCUS ON LATIN AMERICAN ART, AND STRONG PRESENTATIONS FROM EUROPE, CHINA, CUBA, JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA.

LOS ANGELES, CA–With its most international list of exhibitors and programming to date — more than 90 galleries from over 18 countries including China, Czechoslovakia, France, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom — and a larger group of corporate and media partners, including the China Cultural Media Group, LA Art Show 2017 is expanding its international reach across all platforms with an exciting roster of new exhibitions and programs curated by major local and international museums and arts organizations. This year the fair will also place a special focus on Latin American and Latino art to coincide with The Getty’s Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, the follow-up to the institution’s city-wide 2011-2012 initiative, whose focus will also be to place those same regional and ethnic art communities in dialogue with various cultural institutions across Southern California in 2017-18.

“When I started the fair 22 years ago my original intention was to bring the international art world to Los Angeles,” says Kim Martindale, LA Art Show producer. “In the last few years, however, with all the institutional heft emanating from Los Angeles, I now hope to showcase the city and its art community to the world.”

In partnership with international galleries and LA’s most prestigious art institutions, the fair’s expanded, international curatorial team is addressing emerging art market trends while bringing a new audience to the fair and the city of Los Angeles. Highlights include:

*Behind The Wall: Detrás del Muro, a talk about the socio-cultural and democratic project addressing notions of freedom, conceived during the 2015 Havana Biennial, with a presentation of new artist projects for the 2018 edition.

*Dansaekhwa III: Formation and Recurrence, an exhibition curated by Seoul’s SM Fine Art Gallery, which will feature the most iconic works from two of the genre’s minimalist masters: the multilayered monochromes of Kim Tae-Ho and the iconic water drop paintings of Kim Tschang- Yeul, who has been painting this fluid life force for more than four decades.

*Contemporary Ink Art is featured at the Show by a multitude of partners, speaking to its current popularity. The Mood of Ink, a curated exhibition presented by the private Beijing museum East Art Center, features a group of emerging and established Chinese artists including, Bian Hong, Chen Honghan, Fan Peng, Li Hongzhi and Yuan Fuguo, whose work focuses on the abstract expression of ink art; Cospace will present Water & Wind, an exhibition of Hai Pai paintings from Shanghai School featuring artists Chen Jiu, Qiu Deshu; and the Chinese Cultural Media
Group presents a group exhibition of ink paintings including leading artists Li Gang and Wang Fei, as part of the National Exhibition of China, a joint endeavor organized by CCMG (Beijing) and National Base for International Cultural Trade (Shanghai).

*In My Floating World, an installation by Dominican-born artist Scherezade Garcia curated by Tatiana Flores and presented at the Show by the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA).

*Cauce/Riverbed, a performance piece by Cuban performance artist Carlos Martiel, that exposes the nature of undocumented immigration and shows how it impacts the lives of some eleven millio individuals and their families.

*Violent Times, a staged performance by LA-based artist Melanie Pullen exploring the ceremonial aspect of violence and how we dress for war.

* Norton Maza will unveil Deep Impact, a world map highlighting the planet’s immigration borders that are currently subject to the toughest surveillance controls and regulations. The installation will be closely guarded to reflect the impenetrable borders confronting millions of refugees, employing Maza’s method of placing the viewer in an inconvenient position that forces immersion in his scenes and evokes inward reflection rather than reaction. (Updated from original release)

* Talking Head Transmitters by Eugenia Vargas-Pereira, part of Deconstructing Liberty: A Destiny Manifested, a survey exhibition at Anaheim’s Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center curated by Marisa Caichiolo examining different aspects as patriotism, community, citizenship, the pursuit of happiness, freedom, equal rights and activism via installations, videos, paintings, photography and performances by Latin artists from Brazil to Cuba.

*Submerge, a laser installation by Marc Brickman, world renowned visual light artist and the artistin residence for Empire State Building since 2012. He has worked with Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Cirque du Soleil (Viva Elvis), David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Bruce Springsteen, and on the films Running Man, Minority Report, and A-I. The installation, presented by the gallery Art All Ways will feature a radiating line drawing that becomes weightless architecture for viewers to travel within.

“In recent years, the arrival of emerging artists and the opening of some of the world’s finest galleries and museums in Los Angeles has turned the city into a hub for contemporary art,” says LA Art Show and independent curator Caichiolo. “To reflect the world’s changing art trends and the importance of Latino heritage in LA, this year’s LA Art Show is engaging with the Getty to highlight its 2017 Pacific Standard Time LA/LA initiative, a rare opportunity to discover and enjoy the vast and rich world of Latin American and Hispanic art for thousands of visitors, viewers and art lovers.”

Always looking to expand its range of international offerings, LA Art Show will broaden its global reach even further in 2018 with its next institutional and artistic focus: Africa.